Lower Silesians obtained the vault plans and robbed German customs officers of €6.4 million. 7 people arrested

The Lower Silesian Regional Office of the National Prosecutor’s Office’s Department for Organized Crime and Corruption in Wrocław has filed an indictment against 7 people in the case of the theft of more than €6.4 million from the Main Customs Office in Duisburg, Emmerich Branch. The proceedings were conducted jointly with the Central Police Investigation Bureau.

Investigators:

The prosecutor of the Lower Silesian Regional Office of the National Prosecutor’s Office’s Department for Organized Crime and Corruption in Wrocław charged Rafał C. with leading an organized criminal group, an offense under Article 258 § 3 of the Penal Code, and burglary, an offense under Article 279 § 1 of the Penal Code. The other defendants were charged by the prosecutor with participation in an organized criminal group, an offense under Article 258 § 1 of the Penal Code, and burglary, an offense under Article 279 § 1 of the Penal Code. In addition, one of the defendants was charged by the prosecutor with money laundering, an offense under Article 299 § 1 of the Penal Code.

The suspects face up to 15 years in prison.

The Prosecutor’s Office adds: – Due to the need to ensure the proper course of the proceedings, the risk of obstruction and the defendants’ flight, as well as the severe penalty they face, at the prosecutor’s request, the Court ordered pre-trial detention for all the suspects. Before the indictment was filed with the Court, the prosecutor lifted the pre-trial detention of two suspects after determining that the grounds for applying this most severe preventive measure had ceased to exist.

Case details

The proceedings supervised by the Lower Silesian Regional Office of the National Prosecutor’s Office’s Department for Organized Crime and Corruption in Wrocław concerned an organized criminal group that, between October 30 and November 1, 2020, committed a burglary at the headquarters of the Main Customs Office in Duisburg, Emmerich Branch. The perpetrators stole more than €6.4 million.

Prosecutors from the Lower Silesian branch of the National Prosecutor’s Office’s Department for Organized Crime and Corruption and officers of the Central Police Investigation Bureau began their activities after receiving information that the perpetrators came from Lower Silesia. During the proceedings, they cooperated with the German prosecutor’s office and officers of Polizeipräsidium Krefeld who were members of the “Kern” investigative commission established in the Federal Republic of Germany.

How did they manage it?

During the investigation, prosecutors established that the crime had been masterminded by an employee of the German customs office who was responsible, among other things, for designing, assessing and certifying rooms used to store valuables. The man provided the group members with the vault plans, including documentation concerning its security features, location and construction materials. This knowledge was essential for planning and preparing the burglary.

Prosecutor’s Office:

The group members set about carrying out the crime equipped with specialist construction equipment, which they used to drill through the weakest-protected location. While fleeing the scene, they used vehicles fitted with so-called cloned license plates.